Aurora’s What Happened to the Heart? launched on June 7, 2024, but she just released a deluxe version on May 2 of this year, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share my thoughts. Aurora Aksnes is a Norwegian artist who is becoming more well-known by the year, having lent her voice to films like Frozen II and Wolkwalkers (which I love), video games soundtracks like Hellblade II (which I also love), not to mention some of her hit songs, like “Runaway” and “Cure for Me”. I don’t think it will be long until she’s a household name in the US.
Aurora’s style is fascinating to me. On the surface, she offers what I’d call art pop or Euro pop, incorporating ethereal soundscapes, unorthodox time signatures, electronica, EDM, folk, and even some rock sounds from time to time. To me, it’s clear that she grew up listening to artists like Susanne Sundfør and Agnes Obel, as I can hear them painted with broad strokes across many of her songs. But there is an undeniable individuality to her personality and writing that makes her music absolutely enthralling. Even all three of my children are big fans.
There’s just something about this album, you know? Aurora’s writing is somehow both dreamy and precise, and the lyrics are deeply personal and emotional, yet also cerebral, witty, and even daringly sacrilegious at times. Her songs can make you feel sadness or anger, hope or disgust, love and cosmic oneness. There don’t seem to be any throwaway songs or lyrics on anything she makes.
What Happened to the Heart? originally had sixteen tracks, but the deluxe version has twenty-one, including three brand new songs and two remixes. The first song that really grabbed me was “To Be Alright”, a spunky, catchy piece with some very relatable lyrics. Next, I found myself singing “The Conflict of the Mind”, a slower piece with great phraseology and a subtle hook that will bury itself in your head. For a while, my absolute favorite on the album was “My Body Is Not Mine”, a heavily electronic piece with an abstract chorus and a rip-roaring electronic breakdown at the end. It is so addictive.
Over the last year, though, I’ve come to appreciate every single song more and more. Some newer favorites are “Some Type of Skin”, a haunting song with some fantastic lyrics, “Earthly Delights”, a swooning and human piece, “A Soul With No King”, a folksy acoustic song with just a hint of otherworldly melody, and “Starvation”, a razor-sharp tune with terrific lyrics and pure cacophonous delight. I’ve really been liking the quite reserved “Invisible Wounds” of late, a very honest, authentic piece that just makes you want to sing.
The three new songs are all great. “The Flood” is probably my favorite of them, feeling very relatable and close as a breath. I like them all, though. “Heart’s Intuition” has some interesting rhythmic synth happening in the background, and “The Weight of Missing” is a six-minute piano and vocals piece that feels deeply authentic.
Aurora has some amazing albums under her belt—a personal favorite is probably 2022’s The Gods We Can Touch. What Happened to the Heart? stands tall with all of them. It may even become my favorite overall. This album feels as misty and dream-soaked as her music always has, and I just don’t get tired of it.
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